DPS commissioner to resign from post

The Department of Public Safety would have a new chief beginning next week after current commissioner Edward Camacho disclosed that he would resign from his post effective Monday, Oct. 25.

His position would either be filled by previous acting commissioner Santiago Tudela or “whoever is appointed by the administration.”

Camacho, who is also ranked a major in the U.S. Army, said he made his decision during a recent visit with the local soldiers in Hawaii prior to their travel to Texas for further training before eventual deployment to Iraq early next year.

“I felt that that’s the place for me, but there’s also a lot in my life that I need to straighten out, so I’ll take the time to do that,” he said during an interview yesterday.

Camacho said, however, that his decision is not based on a possible deployment, but said, “if I get called, then I would do my duty.”

“I’ve always been a part of that and it’s just a different tempo,” he said.

Camacho said he has already informed the governor of his decision, and will meet with his division chiefs today to address them.

“The governor supports my decision, and we [DPS officials] will have a meeting [today] and I’m going to use that as a venue to let them know,” he said.

He assured, though, that despite resigning from his post, he would continue to assist in the department’s efforts to serve the community.

“My heart is always part of the department,” he said. “I want to continue to assist toward getting the DPS accredited [by the Commission Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies], building more Reserve and National Guard opportunities, as well as other operations that would benefit the department. I want the department to succeed, and even though I [will no longer be the] commissioner, I would still assist.”

Reflecting on his tenure as head of the department, Camacho credited all division directors, officers in command of the various sections, commanders, other personnel, and retirees for all the successes experienced by the department.

“It’s always been very exciting,” he said. “I had the opportunity to meet with some of the most professional, wonderful, and great people to work with. Without the frontline personnel, all kinds of things we are doing would not be possible. We’re there as leaders because of them. They’re the ones who have to put up the bulk of work…sometimes working 16 to 20 hours a day.”

Among the recent issues Camacho said were successfully addressed were the salary increases to promoted officers, as well as pay for services during typhoons.

“We’re finally getting it and it’s obviously because of the effort of everyone working together…a whole lot of people working together toward the same goal,” he said. “A lot of positive things are forthcoming for the department.”

Camacho explained that his options are open, including continuing his services to the U.S. Army, assisting Gov. Juan N. Babauta “with other things,” and even becoming a volunteer firefighter as well as a member of the association to be formed comprising of retired DPS officers, firefighters, and Corrections officers.

“They’re recruiting volunteers for the Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting, and the Army encourages volunteering, so I may assist as a board member or a firefighter,” he said. “I will also be supporting the association [for retired officers]. I would definitely be a member because they’re also looking at assisting officers. It’s a good association to be a part of.”

Camacho said there are still a lot of things to be done at the department.

“There are a million other things I wish we can do, obviously that’s always a struggle when resources are not readily available,” he said. “We wanted to have a lot of training, we want to have a lot of services for the community… We still do and we would continue to pursue those goals. There are a lot of things we wanted to do as a department that happened, but still there are a lot more to pursue to bring to reality. I see that morale is building and getting better.”

“With the amount of money and personnel we have, the officers did a lot of things and we were still able to carry on with our mission,” he said.

Camacho was appointed to the position two years ago in January 2002. He was confirmed in February, sworn in in March, and was officially released from Army Active status in May before assuming full duties as commissioner on June 1, 2002.